| COURT: | Bombay High Court |
| CORAM: | B. P. Colabawalla J, S. C. Dharmadhikari J |
| SECTION(S): | - |
| GENRE: | Domestic Tax |
| CATCH WORDS: | Condonation of delay, delay, strictures |
| COUNSEL: | Chirag Shetty, Jitendra Motwani, prakash Shah |
| DATE: | February 13, 2017 (Date of pronouncement) |
| DATE: | February 20, 2017 (Date of publication) |
| AY: | - |
| FILE: | Click here to download the file in pdf format |
| CITATION: | |
| The Commissioner and his officials are playing a blame game. To cover up their lapses and deficiencies, they turned around and blamed their Advocates .. We are sorry to say that this is not what was expected from the Commissioner of Service Tax. If the officers are unaware of legal procedures, then, they have to be in touch with their Advocates and periodically. They cannot expect that the Advocate himself comes to their office and apprise them as to what further has to be done after the filing of an Appeal | |
While filing a cryptic affidavit in support, initially we had observed that the Commissioner and his officials are playing a blame game. To cover up their lapses and deficiencies, they turned around and blamed their Advocates. They are of the opinion that their Advocates ought to inform them and at every stage of the matter, particularly as to which office objections have to be complied with or are to be removed. If no such communication is made by the Advocates, then the Commissioner feels that he and his officers are not at fault. We are sorry to say that this is not what was expected from the Commissioner of Service Tax. If the officers are unaware of legal procedures, then, they have to be in touch with their Advocates and periodically. They cannot expect that the Advocate himself comes to their office and apprise them as to what further has to be done after the filing of an Appeal. Earliest this impression is removed from their mind as it is the duty of the officers to follow up the case, then, the better it would be for our system. This blame game must be immediately stopped. We are expecting that this game will not be played further and as assured by Mr. Bangur in the light of a circular which is issued. There is a Legal Coordination Cell, Pune Zone and it would hereafter take care in terms of its Office Order dated 1012017 and which has been circulated to all concerned. We would expect better coordination which was completely lacking earlier. We would also appreciate that the Revenue officials communicate with their Advocates periodically or rather regularly apprise themselves of the stages in which their Appeals have to go through.
Hon Court rightly observed; it is like the ‘speaker’ in TN Assembly without knowing the parliamentary procedure went ahead throwing away opposition when it demanded ‘secret ballot’ in EPS confidence motion; the great ‘speaker’, locked out all the opposition and conducted the confidence motion, absolutely in direct contravention of the settled procedure in so many states when ‘confidence motion ‘ is moved; similarly the officers of service dept failed in the settled procedure as the ‘procedure ‘ itself is the very ‘Code’ like CPC or CrPC.
If police man fails in his procedure code naturally his functioning becomes ‘vitiated’ like that the officers finding fault with advocates is like you find fault with the secretary general of the Assembly.
If you do not know the procedure in your functioning, you need to get right reprimand, like that the officers t]rightly got stricture from the court.
Actually in TN, when the Assembly confidence motion is being questioned in Madras High court, the ministry stands suspended till the matter is decided by the hon court under the law of constitution and its vision – vision is the dream of the people and the action appropriate if not the vision is corrupted, so the independence of the people is really badly affected by corrupt means of the so called ministry, in fact the executive like chief secretary of the state could say till the hon court decides, you ministers cannot go on with your ‘acts’; after all when the issue is before court naturally the matter till decided by court is in suspended animation.
similarly the officers blame game cannot help the officers ; similarly the EPS ministry and misused office of speaker cannot help EPs, he ought to wait till the hon court decides; EPS went on record he would see ‘convicted sashikala term’ may be served in TN, obviously he gives to the people information, EPS ministry is subservient to convict sashikala; besides EPS govt cannot get transfer of sashikala from bangalore jail to TN jails for obvious reasons (she controls the ministry as a remote control), if at all he moves he has to move the hon SC bench which convicted sashikala and others, obviously the hon SC would just dismiss EPS plea, that much knowledge he lacks means he is as good as these ‘officers’ here.
Vision sans appropriate action is an idle ‘passing of time’ one needs to know; Codes give a easy method of good help, not like these officers expect Law officers of the court – the Advocates – as these worthies servants and slaves. that way democracy degenerates. that is the implied meaning of the hon court stricture here,
In TN Assembly the speaker loses his position as he behaved as party man not as speaker; obviously he could be removed from ‘speakership’ that is the reason why, there is the Montesquieu idea of separation powers surfaced, under ‘checks and balances’ needed in any democracy.
If checks and balances are vitiated by any naturally the democracy dies a natural death just because Natural justice is dead again here.
you have Art 14 to be read with Art 13 of the constitution of india.